1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to seat assemblies for use within motor vehicles and, more particularly, to foldable seat assemblies.
2. Disclosure Information
Multipurpose vehicles are very popular due to their ability to conveniently carry several passengers or alternatively haul large quantities of cargo. To facilitate these attributes, rear seating areas have been the subject of considerable improvement of late. In particular, seats were previously removed to provide convenient cargo carrying with a flat load floor. Customers have generally found removal of the seats unacceptable due to their bulk and heavy weight. For those customers who prefer to haul several passengers, third row seats have become popular. Unfortunately, some customers have been dissatisfied with the difficulty associated with getting into and out of a third row seat, primarily due to the difficulty of getting past the second row seat. Traditionally, this problem has been solved by providing a tip forward seat to increase access to the third row seat, making it more difficult to remove the third row seat when the customer wishes to haul cargo.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a seat mounting mechanism which is capable of allowing movement of a seat from a seated position into a tumbled forward position for improved access to a third row passenger seat in addition to a dropped and folded position for convenient cargo carrying, eliminating the need to remove otherwise heavy and bulky seats.